Sign language in healthcare, a book: Why Are Your Rules Yelling at Me?

[Alies Maybee]

Here is how Lewis Eisen describes his book and how it relates to signs used in healthcare and how it sets up the relationship with the patient:

I specialize in policy writing, with a specific focus on how institutional policies communicate with the people expected to follow them. My work helps organizations write policies that are clear, effective, and respectful.

I recently published a book titled WHY ARE YOUR RULES YELLING AT ME? When rules treat adults like children. It applies this perspective to a problem faced by patients and caregivers in healthcare settings. Chapter 1 examines the confrontational wording frequently seen on signs stating, in one form or another, that “abuse from patients will not be tolerated. ”More broadly, the book draws attention to a longstanding but often overlooked problem: the effect institutional language can have on trust, dignity, and the relationships on which effective service depends.

Staff safety is, of course, a legitimate and important concern, and there’s no excuse for abusing service staff in any context.

The problem is that these signs start the relationship between patients, caregivers, and providers off on the wrong foot. Before anyone has even exchanged a greeting, every patient is confronted with a harsh warning that presumes they may be a potential troublemaker. The vast majority arrive in good faith, many of them anxious, in pain, or frightened, and this wording does nothing to put them at ease. Moreover, the people who actually abuse staff are generally either unaware of their behaviour or indifferent to such warnings. Essentially, the signs are ineffective on troublemakers and off-putting for everyone else.

More appropriate wording for these signs would be along the lines of “Your patience is appreciated” or “We treat everyone with respect and ask the same in return.”

I have attached a complimentary copy for your interest. There is certainly no need to read the entire book; Chapter 1 contains the discussion I am referring to.

The book was not written as a profit generator, so prices have been kept to a bare minimum. Amazon sells the paperback version for CAD $12.50, and the Kindle —and Apple —versions are both priced at $0.99. The PDF version (linked above) is available at no cost. Check out the site to https://lewiseisen.com/yelling/ to pick up their own copy.